Taking his wife for granted almost ended in divorce for Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman

They separated after more than forty years together. But Danny DeVito wouldn’t give up easily on his marriage and after five months they are back together and the divorce is off.

It must have been love at first sight. Rhea Perlman went to see an off-Broadway play in 1971, which starred Danny DeVito and was introduced to him after the show. Two weeks later they moved in together.

All smiles Danny and Rhea

They took their relationship to the screen when the co-starred in the comedy series Taxi from 1978 to 1982. It was Rhea’s first big gig.

Finally, in 1982, the two went down the aisle. And a year later their first child arrived. Perlman said at the time that it woud be very difficult indeed to break the couple up by then. There was no doubt that they were rock-solid and very happy.

Two more children followed in 1985 and in 1987, another daughter and their only son. Three seemed the magic number and quite enough for the couple.

In 1996 they had another chance to play an onscreen-couple, this time the parents to Matilda, who were rather unpleasant characters, brilliantly portrayed by DeVito and Perlman.

Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman were always one of Hollywood’s most stable couples and nobody could have imagined one without the other. When they announced their split in October 2012, it was a shock to everyone.

Rhea and Danny look so happy together

Whilst Perlman said that they were still working on it and divorce was not yet on the table, reports soon spoke of the reason behind the split. Namely DeVito’s wandering eye and his flirtations with often younger women. Admittedly, Danny DeVito can hardly be called a ladies’ man, but he has his own brand of charm and it seems to work for him. And it seems true that most women prefer a funny man over an attractive man.

It was said that this had been an ongoing situation and that Rhea was finally fed up with it. It is doubtful that Danny ever stepped out on Rhea, but if he forgot that he had a wife he should be giving his attention to as well, it is no wonder she felt neglected and taken for granted and wouldn’t take it any longer.

It is quite human to look at other people outside of the relationship one is in. Most of us can appreciate attractiveness in someone else other than our significant other. That does not mean we would ever cheat on our partner. And flirting comes naturally to some more than others as well. Perhaps Danny DeVito is one of those people.

In any case, faced with losing his soul-mate and apparently prompted by his good friend Michael Douglas, DeVito decided to fight for his marriage. He did everything that he should have done all along: take Rhea out, treat her to thoughtful gifts and every romantic gesture he could think of.

It worked. In March 2013, five months after the split, the couple announced that they are back together and very much in love. And they have been happy ever since. When they showed up for the premier of The Better Angels, nobody could doubt that Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman were anything but happy. Their five-month break seemed a thing of the distant past.

Fans breathed a sigh of relief and probably hope that Danny learned his lesson. It would appear that it took almost losing his wife for him to realize what he had with her. Let’s hope they will continue on their path to happily ever after. More than forty years together does count for something, after all.